- EasyJet agrees to $6.7 billion takeover bid from US private equity firm Castlelake
Source: CBS News
“EasyJet has agreed to be acquired by U.S. private equity firm Castlelake in a deal that values the U.K. budget airline at £5 billion ($6.7 billion). EasyJet’s board of directors and Castlelake said on Sunday they had reached an agreement in principle after the carrier had previously rejected four earlier bids from the firm. EasyJet shares jumped nearly 10% Monday on the London Stock Exchange. … EasyJet, whose main U.K. hub is London Gatwick Airport, was founded in 1995 by entrepreneur Stelios Haji-Ioannou, and grew quickly on the strength of its no-frills, low-cost flights around Europe. Recently, the carrier has faced challenges, including soaring jet fuel costs stemming from the Iran war, that have cut into airline profits.” (07/06/26)
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/easyjet-castlelake-airline-takeover-bid/
- Tanzania: Dozens arrested ahead of anti-regime protests
Source: ABC News
“Tanzanian authorities arrested dozens of people ahead of planned anti-government protests, part of a crackdown on calls demanding democratic reforms and the release of a key opposition figure. Sylvester Mangure, the army spokesperson, warned Sunday against any demonstrations, following last week’s government ban on political rallies. He also accused ‘some people,’ whom he didn’t identify, of ‘recruiting youth’ to join the protests as they claimed the country’s army supported the planned demonstrations. Young people have called for protests on Tuesday, coinciding with the 72nd anniversary of the ruling party’s establishment, to demand democratic changes and the release of opposition leader Tundu Lissu, who was arrested on treason charges after calling for electoral reforms ahead of last year’s general election.” (07/06/26)
- Sources corroborate whistleblower claims of corruption, quid pro quo culture inside powerful NYC union
Source: Fox News
“A scathing whistleblower letter alleges corruption inside New York City’s powerful hotel workers union, including claims that union leaders accepted gifts from hotel executives, manipulated lease arrangements and improperly influenced union business in a culture of quid pro quo dealings — claims that were corroborated by union sources who spoke with Fox News Digital. The letter, reviewed by Fox News Digital, asserts that top officials within the New York Hotel Trades Council and UNITE HERE Local 6, including President Richard Maroko, participated in actions that violated internal policies, fiduciary obligations and possibly federal law. The union denies all allegations of impropriety and organized two internal investigations carried out by third-party lawyers who found the whistleblower’s claims to be unsubstantiated.” (07/06/26)
- UK: Sky Agrees to Buy ITV for up $2.1 Billion to Compete With Streaming Giants
Source: US News & World Report
“Sky, the UK-based TV, internet and mobile phone provider owned by Comcast, has agreed to buy ITV’s media and entertainment arm for up to 1.6 billion pounds ($2.1 billion) after months of talks to create a major competitor to the global streaming giants. … The combined Sky-ITV entity will become part of NBCUniversal following the completion of its split from Comcast, ITV said.” (07/06/26)
- FIFA criticized for decision to lift US star’s red card suspension following Trump phone call
Source: CBS News
“FIFA is being criticized over its decision to lift the red card suspension for lead U.S. Men’s National Team scorer Folarin Balogun, allowing him to play against Belgium on Monday. Sources familiar with the matter told CBS News that Balogun’s reinstatement came after President Trump called FIFA President Gianni Infantino on Thursday and spoke about the suspension, which would have kept the 25-year-old striker from playing in the round of 16 World Cup match. The Union of European Football Associations, Europe’s soccer governing body, said FIFA ‘crossed a red line,’ and expressed its ‘disbelief’ at a decision it called ‘unprecedented, incomprehensible and unjustifiable.’ … The Royal Belgian Football Association, whose national team will face the U.S. Monday, said it was ‘astonished’ by the decision, and added it contradicts FIFA’s own rules.” (07/06/26)
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/fifa-infantino-trump-red-card-folarin-balogun-criticism/
- Iran: Huge crowds fill Tehran streets for Khamenei’s funeral procession
Source: BBC News [UK State Media]
“Huge crowds have lined the streets of Tehran for the funeral procession of Iran’s late supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who was killed on the first day of the war with the US and Israel. Footage from Iranian state TV showed many tens of thousands of mourners gathered to watch Khamenei’s flag-draped coffin being transported by a lorry along a 10km (6-mile) route that passed through the capital’s landmark Enghelab Square. The procession took place after his body lay in state for two days at Tehran’s Grand Mosalla mosque. Three of Khamenei’s sons prayed beside his coffin there on Sunday. But Mojtaba, the son who succeeded him as supreme leader, did not make an appearance. He has not been seen in public since reporting being seriously wounded in the same Israeli air strike in Tehran on 28 February that killed his father and his wife.” (07/06/26)
- Philippines: Senate opens Duterte impeachment trial
Source: ABC News
“The Philippine Senate, acting as an impeachment court, opened the trial of Vice President Sara Duterte on Monday in a politically volatile event that will unfold with the backdrop of her bitter political feud with President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. More than 6,000 police officers, including anti-riot squads, were deployed to secure the Senate, where about 400 anti-Duterte demonstrators converged, chanting ‘convict Sara now.’ Duterte did not appear but was represented by her lawyers at the start of the trial, which will run for 92 days, according to a pretrial plan seen by The Associated Press. If convicted of the charges, which include amassing unexplained wealth and publicly threatening to have Marcos assassinated, Duterte may be permanently disqualified from holding public office. She denies the charges.” (07/06/26)
- SpaceX President Gwynne Shotwell to donate stock to Trump Accounts
Source: CNBC
“SpaceX President Gwynne Shotwell announced she would donate to the Trump Accounts program on Monday, joining a growing list of companies and billionaires pledging to support the investment accounts for American children under 18. The gift, which includes shares of Shotwell’s and her husband’s SpaceX stock, will go to around 2 million Trump accounts, with a ‘bit more emphasis’ on children who live close to their home in central Texas, Shotwell wrote in a post on X. … Shotwell, who is also SpaceX’s chief operating officer, is one of its largest individual shareholders, with a stake worth roughly $2.4 billion following its record-breaking IPO last month.” (07/06/26)
https://www.cnbc.com/2026/07/06/spacex-spcx-gwynne-shotwell-stock-trump-accounts.html
- UK fighter jets intercept Russian plane over Norwegian Sea
Source: BBC News [UK State Media]
“UK fighter jets intercepted a Russian maritime patrol aircraft after it “repeatedly approached” a carrier strike group in the Norwegian Sea, the Ministry of Defence (MoD) said. The Russian Bear-F plane passed at low altitude and ‘unnecessarily close’ to the HMS Prince of Wales aircraft carrier and is believed to have dropped 10 sonobuoys into the water on Thursday, the MoD added. The MoD said Moscow’s activity in the Norwegian Sea was ‘unsafe and unprofessional’. It comes weeks after Royal Marines boarded a Russian shadow fleet oil tanker in the English Channel, while the head of the military has warned the risks and threats facing the UK are greater now than at any time since the Cold War. The UK’s Carrier Strike Group is currently deployed off Iceland under Nato command, with 1,500 British personnel on board.” (07/06/26)
- TN: National Guard members murder man during pursuit
Source: Associated Press
“Two Tennessee National Guard members assigned to a crime-fighting patrol in Memphis fatally shot a man Sunday who turned toward the soldiers with a gun during a downtown pursuit, authorities said. The Guard members are part of a federal task force in Memphis created by President Donald Trump, who last year sent troops and federal agents to Democrat-run cities that he described as overrun with crime. Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee, a Republican, had deployed the Guard to support the effort.” (07/05/26)
- Gnostic Anarchists
Source: Underthrow
by Max Borders“We live in condition Z. The libertarian anarchists both want condition A, which is a society without a monopoly government. The gnostic anarchist looks at A, sees the vision clearly, and falls in love with what he sees. He pictures the end state in fine detail and then, in his mind, simply arrives: Z to A, with no intervening steps. Because A is the only acceptable condition to the gnostic anarchist, every other governance arrangement is equally illegitimate to him, and fighting over any of them is silly or wrong-headed. … The directional anarchist keeps the same destination in view and never loses sight of A. But he knows he is standing on real ground, and that the climb has a topography. … A direct path to A is not on the board. It is not a path he nobly refuses; it is a path that does not exist.” (07/06/26)
- War Has Become Pointless
Source: Foreign Policy
by Stephen M Walt“Even if you’ve never read On War, you probably know Carl von Clausewitz’s famous dictum that ‘war is the continuation of politics by other means.’ His point was that war should always have a clear political objective, which must guide the choice of strategy and the manner in which military power is used. Brilliant battlefield achievements are meaningless if they fail to produce the desired political results. I’ve been thinking about this issue a lot lately, and I’m beginning to wonder if war in today’s world is increasingly pointless. I say that with considerable trepidation, because past predictions that war was increasingly costly and likely to become less frequent have not fared well. … So I’m not going to tell you that war is disappearing. It’s not. It’s just becoming increasingly pointless. Consider the recent historical record.” (07/06/26)
- No Paine, No Declaration
Source: Ludwig von Mises Institute
by George Ford Smith“Thomas Paine did not sign any of the founding documents, either the Declaration or the Constitution. … He was not a member of the Continental Congress. He never held political office at any level. His only military experience was as an aide-de-camp for Major General Nathanael Greene. Thomas Paine was ‘a man who had failed as a skilled craftsman, as a teacher, as a shopkeeper, as a street preacher, as a petty customs official in the Excise, dismissed more than once and a sometime debtor and bankrupt.’ In short, a nobody. At his death in 1809 he was one of the most despised people in the country. Yet, without Thomas Paine, America might have become like Canada—a self-governing dominion under the Crown rather than an independent republic. Without Paine, we don’t get Common Sense and his clarion call for independence from England.” (07/06/26)
- The Administration Isn’t Even Pretending Anymore
Source: The Atlantic
by Marie-Rose Sheinerman“The official line remains the same: The 10-month campaign of strikes on small boats in the Caribbean and eastern Pacific has nearly stopped the flow of drugs by sea into the United States. In December, President Trump boasted about a 92 percent drop in seaborne shipments. Last month, in an apparent sign of further progress, he said the decline was up to 97.2 percent. But government officials and agencies closest to the action, at sea and on America’s streets, tell a different story. In hearings, official reports, and interviews they have all but given up the pretense that the campaign has succeeded in reducing the flow of drugs into the U.S., even as 221 people have been killed in more than 60 strikes. … street prices for cocaine in the United States have plummeted, the opposite of what would be expected if smugglers were being deterred.” (07/06/26)
- The Lump of Labor Fallacy in the Age of AI
Source: Law & Liberty
by David Hebert“Every generation experiences the same fear: technology is going to permanently displace workers. The spinning jenny was supposed to idle England’s textile workers. The steam engine would hollow out the trades. Electricity would render physical labor unnecessary. The computer and the Internet would finish the job of ending work. Now, artificial intelligence models have assumed the role of civilization-ending technology, and the doomsayers are back at their posts. This time, however, some of the loudest alarms are coming from the inside.” (07/06/26)
https://lawliberty.org/the-lump-of-labor-fallacy-in-the-age-of-ai/
- The New Socialists and What They Say about America
Source: American Greatness
by Stephen Soukup“In the roughly two weeks since the New York primary elections, conservatives—and other normies—have been understandably upset about the prospects of a socialist surge in American politics. Three candidates endorsed by New York City’s socialist Mayor Zohran Mamdani won their congressional primaries easily, while Democratic Socialists of America (DSA)-aligned candidates around the state did quite well. In short, June 23 was a good day for socialists throughout the country, leaving many observers wondering if this will be a new date that lives in infamy, the date that marks the official start of the socialist-led collapse of the world’s quintessential capitalist, democratic republic. As I say, this concern is understandable. Avowed socialists are winning big in cities across the country, not just in New York City but also in Seattle, possibly in Los Angeles, and almost certainly in the nation’s capital, Washington, D.C.” (07/06/26)
https://amgreatness.com/2026/07/06/the-new-socialists-and-what-they-say-about-america/
- Is the US Constitution still [sic] fit for purpose?
Source: The hill
by William S Becker“The U.S. Constitution is our secular society’s most revered text. It is the bedrock on which the republic was built. It has generally served us well for the last 237 years. Changing it is like trying to rewrite the Ten Commandments. More than 11,000 amendments have been proposed since 1791, when the Bill of Rights was added. Only 17 have been ratified. This anniversary year is a time to celebrate how far America has come and to ask a direct question: Is the Constitution still fit for purpose?” (07/06/26)
https://thehill.com/opinion/campaign/5950372-us-constitution-still-relevant/
- What Do They Do with Your Tax Dollars?
Source: Foundation for Economic Education
by Douglas Carswell“Perhaps it is not so much the party of those we send to Congress or to our state legislature that counts. Perhaps what matters more is that so many of the decisions about how your money is spent are made in the dark. Setting a budget is complicated. The data might exist. Some of it might even be public. But it sits squirreled away on a spreadsheet somewhere, and you would need a CPA to make sense of it. Frankly, most folk do not have the time. But what if technology could suddenly take all that data and build something that makes it easy to see? Easy to see who gets your tax dollars, and what they do with them once they have them.” (07/06/26)
https://fee.org/articles/what-do-they-do-with-your-tax-dollars/
- Manipulators Do Not Use Language The Same Way Normal People Do
Source: Caitlin Johnstone, Rogue Journalist
by Caitlin Johnstone“Normal people use language to communicate and connect, while manipulative people use language to control and extract. Propagandists, hasbarists, politicians, and people with disorders which incline them toward manipulative behavior like narcissistic personality disorder or antisocial personality disorder, use language with the goal of advancing agendas rather than to convey information and connect with other people. Manipulators use their words to influence the thoughts people think about themselves, about others, and about their world. They use language to extract favors, money, resources, sex, esteem, loyalty, or submission from other people. They use it to trick people in order to ensure that life transpires in accordance with their will. For the manipulator, language is a tool you use to move people around and get them to do what you want them to do.” (07/06/26)
- The Reimbursement Code Monopoly Is a Threat to Health
Source: Brownstone Institute
by Margaret Hampton“Healthcare systems (insurers and other payers) only reimburse what is coded and billable. The lack of codes for all healthcare options started in 1983 when the US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and the American Medical Association (AMA) agreed that HHS would only use the AMAs codes to process Medicare and Medicaid claims. In 2002, HHS mandated use of the AMA’s codes for filing electronic claims. ABC codes were mentioned as an option but not adopted and the AMA currently has a monopoly on billing codes. … As a result, patients frequently experience long wait times and expensive interventions only after disease has advanced.” (07/06/26)
https://brownstone.org/articles/the-reimbursement-code-monopoly-is-a-threat-to-health/
- Scared Jeffries rolls out red carpet for DSA extremists, as they prep to feast on his carcass
Source: New York Post
by Kirsten Fleming“Hakeem Jeffries is rolling out the welcome mat for the people who want his head mounted on their trophy wall. The House minority leader offered a hearty “welcome aboard” to state Assembly members Claire Valdez and Micah Lasher as well as congressional candidates Darializa Avila Chevalier and Brad Lander, both progressive Democrats associated with the Democratic Socialists of America. All but Lasher were backed by slick DSA kingmaker Mayor Zohran Mamdani. ‘Congratulations to our newest members of the NYC congressional delegation,’ he wrote on X. ‘From public servants to union organizers to community activists, the path is different but the work is the same. We must decisively address the affordability crisis and crush far-right extremism!’ Never mind that Dems would classify immigration enforcement and strong borders as ‘far-right extremism’.” (07/05/26)
- Trump’s stock endorsements are legal, but that doesn’t make them good advice
Source: Washington Post
by Robert T Miller“Endorsing individual stocks would be unusual behavior for any president, but in Trump’s case it is notable for a different reason: The president has disclosed owning shares in many of the companies he touts. But as troubling as it may seem for the president to own shares in a company, praise it and profit from the rise in price, it is almost certainly legal. Nothing the president has done rises to the level of insider trading or market manipulation, the two crimes most associated with stock trading. … That doesn’t mean retail investors should look to Trump for stock tips. Securities markets today are so efficient that, after the president says something about a stock, flash traders will act on that information in less than a second. By the time any retail investor waddles in, the stock’s price will already reflect Trump’s advice.” (07/06/26)
- We, The People, Will Prevail
Source: Our Future
by Sulma Arias“We’re celebrating 250 years since the founding of the United States of America. Yes, celebrating, and I hope you did, too. I know this moment brings up so many conflicting emotions. On the one hand, this country is our home. Some of us have no other place to go. Some of us have chosen to make this our home, and some of us are still grappling with the centuries of injustice that brought us here. Whatever this landmark celebration means to you, I hope you take time to reflect, as I have, on what brought us here, and find ways to take lessons from those who found reasons to fight to build a better future in this country, across the many injustices that wound our nation’s journey. In doing so, these courageous women and men made a way for us to be here today.” (07/06/26)
- Europe May Never Be Cool, but It Can Be Air Conditioned
Source: Reason
by JD Tuccille“If you really want to get a European politician wound up, try suggesting that, in the 21st century, human civilization has progressed to the point that we need not be at the mercy of the elements; if the temperature outside is uncomfortable, we can adjust the climate in our homes and businesses to our taste. That will get you a stuffy lecture about the virtues of suffering for the good of the planet. Well, unless powerful people are being inconvenienced; then the air conditioning comes on.” (07/06/26)
https://reason.com/2026/07/06/europe-may-never-be-cool-but-it-can-be-air-conditioned/
- Rolling Stone and the Making of a Counterculture Capitalist Success Story
Source: The Daily Economy
by Paul McDonnold“In ‘The Rise of Hip Capitalism,’ author Joseph de León traces how Rolling Stone fused countercultural rebellion with entrepreneurial ambition, turning cultural dissent into a media empire.” (07/06/26)
- What’s Trump’s Beef with Communism?
Source: Future of Freedom Foundation
by Jacob G Hornberger“How can Trump condemn socialism and communism in the run-up to the mid-terms, given that he fell in love with the brutal communist dictator of North Korea and is now partnering with the brutal socialist-communist regime in Venezuela? Or is that Trump is only prejudiced against Democratic Party socialists and communists but has nothing against foreign socialists and communists?” (07/06/26)
https://www.fff.org/2026/07/06/whats-trumps-beef-with-communism/
- Shapiro could’ve been a contender, but he caved to the loons
Source: Fox News
by Jonathan Turley“Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro has finally reached his Terry Malloy moment. In the classic movie ‘On the Waterfront’, the character tells his brother of losing it all; his shot to be a champion and a person of respect: ‘You don’t understand! I coulda had class. I coulda been a contender. I could’ve been somebody, instead of a bum, which is what I am, let’s face it.’ Shapiro decided to deliver his defining moment on MS NOW’s ‘Morning Joe’ when he abandoned all principle and decided to join other Democratic establishment leaders in offering up the Supreme Court to the radical left. Shapiro used the common coded reference to court packing, calling for ‘radical reform of the court’. The only ‘radical’ reform being seriously discussed is packing the institution with an immediate liberal majority to reverse a series of recent decisions and to greenlight an equally radical agenda for changes to our political system.” (07/05/26)
https://www.foxnews.com/opinion/jonathan-turley-shapiro-couldve-been-contender-caved-loons
- Quantum Vibe, 07/06/26
Source: Big Head Press
by Scott BieserCartoon. (07/06/26)
- Make Political Parties Great Again
Source: Liberal Currents
by Dennis Lytton“The answer to Eric Swalwell and the top-two debacle in California is multiparty electoral reform.” (07/06/26)
https://www.liberalcurrents.com/make-political-parties-great-again/
- Thinking twice about that US-China superwar
Source: Responsible Statecraft
by Doug Bandow“President Donald Trump has proved, yet again, why America’s founders wisely insisted that only Congress could declare war. The legislative branch must empower the government’s chief executive to, in the words of Constitutional Convention delegate James Wilson, ‘involve us in such distress.’ Had Trump followed the law, he may never have launched his disastrous attack on Iran. Yet much worse would be a conflict between the U.S. and People’s Republic of China.” (07/06/26)
- The Headache of Hospital Pricing
Source: Law & Liberty
by Jared Rhoads“Cross-subsidization inside hospitals doesn’t just distort prices, it makes healthcare harder to fix.” (07/06/26)
- Scrutinizing the Unpardonable: The AUKUS Public Inquiry So Far
Source: CounterPunch
by Binoy Kampmark“In the annals of policy, strategy and budgeting, the AUKUS pact comprising Australia, the United Kingdom and the United States will be seen as one of the most mindless, absurd projects of tiny, poorly furnished minds. Not for those in the UK and US, with both receiving Croesus-rich dollops of Australian cash for stuttering submarine programs. Not for flabby think tankers who repeatedly run out bills on the advisory circuit lauding the importance of costly boats and the China threat. It will be down to Australian government officials, elected and appointed, who seek the imaginary assurance of nuclear-powered submarines that they do not need, expending money they can scarce afford (AU$368 billion), while surrendering the country’s sovereignty in carefree, even treasonous manner.” (07/06/26)
- My Conversation With Karl Marx About Donald Trump
Source: Common Dreams
by Norman Solomon“The following invented interview has been edited for clarity and length: Norman Solomon: You’ve downplayed the importance of the individual in history. But the United States now has as president an individual who transformed power relations and the political landscape. Karl Marx: I can assure you that he did not do that by himself. Power relations are class relations. And by the way, I never said individuals are irrelevant to history. I exhorted individuals to get involved in changing history. NS: President Trump has rolled back gains from the last hundred years and more. Also, he’s mentally unstable, to put it mildly. KM: The basics still hold. As I wrote in 1869 about a situation in France where a cult existed around a tyrant, the class struggle ‘created circumstances and relationships that made it possible for a grotesque mediocrity to play a hero’s part’.” (07/06/26)
https://www.commondreams.org/opinion/karl-marx-reflects-on-donald-trump
- Reason Roundtable, 07/06/26
- Ron Paul Liberty Report, 07/06/26
Source: Ron Paul Liberty Report
“A Political Revolution Is Brewing.” (07/06/26)
- Show-Me Institute Podcast, 07/06/26
Source: Show-Me Institute
“How to Grow Missouri’s Economy with Joseph Haslag.” (07/06/26)
https://showmeinstitute.org/article/uncategorized/how-to-grow-missouris-economy-with-joseph-haslag/
- NPR Politics Podcast, 07/06/26
Source: National Public Radio [US state media]
“Trump calls FIFA, then FIFA lifts ban on U.S. star player.” (07/06/26)
https://www.npr.org/2026/07/06/nx-s1-5883813/trump-calls-fifa-then-fifa-lifts-ban-on-u-s-star-player
- Checks & Balances, 07/06/26
Source: Checks & Balances
“Pulitzer Prize winning historian, Dr. Edward Larson, on the Declaration of Independence, the Election of 1800, and America at 250.” (07/06/26)
https://chkbal.substack.com/p/bonus-episode-why-1776-still-matters
- Rising, 07/06/26
Source: The Hill
“JD Vance rejects Milton Friedman, embraces socialism?” (07/06/26)
- EconTalk, 07/06/26
Source: EconTalk
“EconTalk Book Club on the Iliad (with Ido Hevroni).” (07/06/26)
https://www.econtalk.org/econtalk-book-club-on-the-iliad-with-ido-hevroni/
- The Daily Blast With Greg Sargent, 07/06/26
Source: The New Republic
“MAGA Wants to Force Women to Pee in Cups at Airports.” (07/06/26)
https://newrepublic.com/article/212706/maga-wants-force-women-pee-cups-airports
- TechTank, season 5, episode 44
Source: Brookings Institution
“How robotics is reshaping manufacturing.” (07/06/26)
https://shows.acast.com/tech-tank/episodes/how-robotics-is-reshaping-manufacturing
- Chasing Ghosts, episode 85
Source: Libertarian Institute
“Home is the High Ground: Reimagining a New Hermit Kingdom.” (07/06/26)
- SolutionsWatch, 07/06/26
Source: The Corbett Report
“Community Through Commerce and Conference.” (07/06/26)
https://corbettreport.com/community-through-commerce-and-conference/